The walk of mirrors
by Lilyrosebelle
Summary: Mr. Gold is the devil as they say in Storybrooke. Belle is something new...even though she is something old. They are probably more than meet the eye. I can only hope that their eyes meet somehow ( as you can see am as unaware as you about what is going to happen so it will be a surprise for all of us)
1. Whispers that the wind carries

**I Whispers that the wind carries**

It is said that life gives you just enough to carry on you back. I guess that the lucky ones are the people with large backs. I don't really know how lucky are the persons with small backs, or the ones with porcelain skin. I've heard people complain about their back pain, but honestly I've never heard that this pain can break them, like _really _break them. I think is because of their spine.

Indeed life usually gives a lot of weights to a small back, but she always leave the hands free, because like I said all the weight is on the back and the hands shouldn't bear weights, just touches.

You may think about this stuff sometime, like when you read a book with the sound of the rain as background or when you spent too much time with yourself and you start to become melancholic.

Maybe you're just that type of person, or maybe these thoughts never crossed my mind.

However, when he arranged his tie in the mirror every morning, Mr. Gold didn't seem to have a large back. Who knows, maybe he was one of those, one of the few people whose hands are not free.

When you look at him you aren't that impress, but when he looks at you..., maybe you should start running as fast as you can.

His medium height, his slim figure and the fact that for walking he needed a cane didn't necessary require respect, but his muddy brown eyes demanded it. Even though he was probably strong, he didn't have muscles, but of course he had something better; a brain. He could've been violent, but he chooses to be cruel and evil. He almost never raised his tone, but you got chills every time he was speaking.

There weren't many things that were known about him, but nobody from Storybrooke Maine dared to ask too many questions. Nobody asked, but the most curious of them probably wondered where did the _beast_ loose his heart or if he even had one to begin with.

No one in particular liked him probably. People gave him a very fake smile whenever he came to collect the rent, -the owner of the flower shop didn't even bother to do that- , and Gold didn't care at all about those things.

Of course there were some people, some really crazy people, who didn't feel a cold wind when he passed by. Like Ruby, the waitress at Granny's who served him his black tea from time to time with a joke to go, or widow Lucas, the girl's grandmother whose name nobody remembered anymore, who welcomed him with a sarcastic comment every time he walk into the dinner. This were indeed the crazy people, like Mary-Margaret and her husband David who always said " Hi" to him at the supermarket and were always trying to have a little chitchat with the monster, or people like Archie Hopper with no sense of self-preservation whatsoever .

On the other hand there were different kinds of people, like Regina Milles, the mayor, who saw in Gold at the same time a precious allay and a ferocious enemy, or like Jefferson who didn't really had an opinion about Gold or about the stories that people heard.

The most frightening story about the beast was that he loved someone at some point, or worst he was loved by someone at some point. He even had proves; his children.

Indeed Mr. Gold was married once upon a time... And now he wasn't.

There were stories that he built his former wife into a wall in the cellar to hide her dead body like one of Edgar Allan Poe's characters, or that the woman herself ran away, changed her identity and now lives in a studio-apartment in Wisconsin. Of course nobody entirely believed those rumors whispered at the corner of the street, but because they weren't denied people continued to hear them.

About the Gold kids...What about them?

Some people thought that they were cruel demons just like their father and others pity them thinking that their fate was worse than death. "What kind of lives must they have!" said someone once.

Everybody heard about the oldest one who was trying to escape his father shadow. Neal Cassidy was this well-known person. It was said that he wanted to go away with his mother but Gold caught him and forced him to stay at any cost. So as a revenge he took his mother maiden name and also because he didn't want to be associated with his father. Some people said that the reason why the boy hated his father so much was because of a beautiful girl named Morraine, a classic case of forbidden love. When he found out about the affair the beast evicted the girl and her big family, and forced them to move in another city God knows where. All of these were just rumors, very powerful rumors.

However, not matter his hate, the 17 years old child still needed his father to bail him out, when he was caught stealing something or skimming somebody.

The other son, the youngest one, was still at the age of innocence probably because about him weren't that many stories yet. He was known as the 6 years old with an unique name. It was also believed that Baelfire still loved his father. Of course at his age, Bae didn't have much of a choice.

The stories where like water in the dessert for the inhabitants of the small town, which was rarely surprised by some big news.

Nobody ever came to Storybrooke, until the day someone did.

Worst actually...

_Someone came back._

**Hello everybody! I know this chapter is short and the description is not that interesting now but I promise that once I'm gonna figure out what this story is about I'm changing it. Maybe I'm gonna change the title If it doesn't fit. Thank you for reading this by the way. It means a lot to me. **


	2. Someone old,something new and a blue car

**II Someone old, something new and a blue car**

When the moving truck was parking in front of the flower shop, Moe French was already at the entrance waiting for the door of the car, which accompanied the truck, to open. If he was happy or sad we are not allowed to tell, but what was certain was the fact that the man was anxious.

A few seconds later the old car opened with its characteristic _squeak, closing with the same unpleasant sound._

On second thought, I don't really believe that the car is that important. Maybe is not important at all. I'm clueless.

"Welcome home Boston!" said the man hugging the young woman.

Oh yeah, I knew I forgot something! There was a woman getting out of the car.

Because of her small height the stranger was forced to stay on her toes, just to hug her father. Her beautiful black Mary Jane shoes didn't help at all.

The young woman wrapped her arms around her father's neck making the blue dress to lift just a little above her knees. At this time gentle breeze was also playing with both her dark curls styled in a low ponytail and with some loose strands of the hairstyle.

Breaking away from the hug, the beautiful mystery smiled.

"I've missed you too papa" she said and then as if her blue eyes weren't fascinating enough they took on a special glow.

This _'I miss you'_, was all that remained of her in Storybrooke. This weird sentence and the giant banner that portrayed the name of the flower shop. 'Game of Thorns' was her idea and she still loved it.

The woman knew that Storybrooke probably forgot about her existence, as she forgot the small town somewhere in an old and dusty memory.

Miss French was indeed one of the pieces of the puzzle that did not fit in Storybrooke. Perhaps she would've fit, if the town would have known her just a little bit. Too bad it wasn't enough time then.

The father and daughter started to speak, with glowing eyes and with big smiles painted on their faces.

Nobody would've thought that this kind of happiness was real and the reason was simple. It wasn't.

The love and the 'I miss you' from earlier were real, but they haven't brought even a little happiness. The topic they were discussing was probably happy, but the happiness itself was too busy to show up.

The young woman's name wasn't spoken out loud even once, like it was cursed or something, like the simple pronunciation of the letters would have made the earth to tremble and the Hell to freeze.

Maybe the happy conversation was between two memories and the happiness didn't want to sow up because the memories were lost somewhere in some world without magic.

When he looked at her, the man saw a beautiful woman with a big smile and blue eyes. He saw a woman who gladly waited for her wrinkles, wrinkles that didn't come. Of course the girl in front of him was beautiful and had blue eyes, but her beauty was special and her eyes were painted with a different brush.

The beautiful stranger saw a different image before her eyes too. She saw a much younger man with a much gentle look. She saw a man kissing little chestnut curls and a lost diamond impossible to be found.

Nobody saw the person in front of them, but they were still searching the footsteps of some ghosts who weren't supposed to hunt their souls anymore. No one told them that the ghosts were a myth, that they weren't real?

Feeling the gentle breeze again the beautiful woman picked with the corner of her eyes at the town she left behind.

She didn't see anything new, and she didn't expect to. Storybook was always stuck in time. Every day looked exactly like the one before.

So, the town hadn't change. There were the same small shops and the same average buildings. The perfume of the flowers was still sensing from her father's shop and was still disappear immediately after you cross the street. Probably there still was that crack in the sidewalk which she used to avoid as a kid and probably the gas station still sell those disgusting chips she loved so much.

The city was like a huge stage whose decor never changes. The characters sometimes finished their role. The beauty with eyes like the sky was still wondering what her role was and how her character should be played. Unfortunately she wasn't such a good actress.

"Come on kid, don't make those men to wait for you" said Moe pointing to the red truck where her belongings were

"Tell them to unload everything here" he continued." Garry and I are going to take them to my place later. You remember Garry, don't you?"

"Of course I do papa." the girl told him, her word sounding like answer that was practiced for hours in front of the mirror.

It goes without saying that the beauty was listening to her papa's words with a sweet smile on her face.

She always listened to him and she was sure that she always will, no matter what. Even then, when the man said '_my_ place' she obeyed, asking the two men from the car to unload her stuff and also asking them if they want a something to eat or drink after.

After their refusal she let them do their job and joined her father into the flower shop.

"How is Garry papa?" asked the girl as she reached the back of the shop and sat down on a chair.

Her father answer but his words hadn't reached her ears, like the question itself hadn't reached her heart. Well...her dad's heart was another story…

A thin layer of had settled on Moe's furniture and there were no lilies in the vase from the small table who was at the moment placed between her and the man.

"You must be tired from the road" she heard the man said. "Don't you want a cup of coffee?"

"No, thank you" she said shaking her head.

She hated coffee. She always did and in the rarely situations that she actually drank it, it was half sugar and then the name of the drink wasn't coffee anymore. However, she liked when she could sense the smell of coffee beans. It gave her an idea on what people consume that specific drink.

Her father probably didn't know about that. She couldn't remember if that was because she didn't tell him or because he didn't listen when she was trying to.

The way he touched her forehead while asking the question, as if her tiredness could transform into fever, was so gentle and fragile that the young woman realized what happened after it was over.

"I'm all right papa, don't worry" she told him before changing the subject. "I hope you don't mind that I'm staying with you until I get on my feet. I have some savings from Boston but I don't think is enough to buy an apartment and sill live from them."

"You could've sold the car as I advised you to do honey" said the man, but seeing the frown that was forming on his daughter face, he continued before she could say anything. "I know you like that car but let's be honest; Storybrooke is a small town and you wouldn't need it anyway. Face it, the car is garbage. It's in a horrible condition and it's an old and unknown model so you should know that you are not goanna find any spare parts. Anyway, to fix it will probably cost you three times more than a new car. You drive a ticking bomb. If you sell it, you'll have enough money for a decent apartment and…"

"You know I'm not selling the car papa" the woman interrupted him, a thing she rarely did and above that she refused him, a thing she never did. Her voice was more serious but at the same time was still soft and peaceful. Also she stood up gracefully like it was the most natural thing to do.

The man stood up too, knowing that the kid would have followed him to the end of the earth, if she would've drove there in that old, light blue car.

The young woman had always been good girl and she never created the kind of trouble that her generation did constantly. She was still a good little girl who would always listen to her 'dear papa', but there was a problem with this kind of kids. They are the ones who observe things. They are the first of their age who notice that mama and papa are in fact humans, that they aren't perfect and that they actually can make mistakes. Yet, they still listen to their parent's so-called advices as long as it doesn't interfere with their moral compass. In girl's case the South and the North weren't that important as long as she could look for them in the not so comfortable interior of the car.

Although it wasn't confirmed yet, they both knew that it wasn't about the car.

"Izzy it's time for you to think about how thing are going to be here" said Moe simple. " You know we talked about this"

"Papa," she started with that simple word pronouncing much softer than before, when she said it so many times jut to make sure could, just to make sure it was real. "That is not my name and you know it very well. I'm aware of our discussions and I would do anything to please you. I love you too much not to do that papa" the girl repeated the word one more time.

"I have only one daughter and her name is Isabella French" said the man ignoring the rest of the sentences deliberately.

"Then I guess you're mistaken me because I'm not that girl" said the beautiful women, raising her shoulders as her words left her mouth. "If you don't have a daughter that means I don't have a father, do I?" she asked without expecting an answer.

Looking at the cloak on the wall, she let her voice free again like nothing happened, because nothing did.

"I'll see if the two men finished unloading the truck and then I'll take a walk through the me know when Garry comes. I would really like to see him again"

After that she kissed the man on the cheek and said a quick 'I love you' and 'Goodbye' before she left.

Leaving the shop the woman paid to little attention to the men who almost hit her with a box as she walked away from the store.

The beauty was smiling. She really was. It was a true smile.

Belle French was smiling like she had forgotten that she was supposed to be sad.

Maybe she was lying earlier. Maybe she was truly tired. And maybe she didn't care.

**I really want to thank you all of you who are reading my story. I hope you are pleased with my work.:)**


	3. Une Belle mémoire

**III Une Belle mémoire**

As the time passed, the young woman felt that the wind seemed to be a little colder than before. The smell of the air was hypnotizing and probably some people were regretting that they didn't have a jacket.

However, the cold that seemed to capture her soul, made the old stranger happy in some strange way.

She was never one of those persons who were in love with summer. Still, she could appreciate the season. She could even love it. She was always grateful for the sun that was playing on her pale skin and she always like the energy that summer usually brought.

All that being said, the winter was always going to be her true love. She didn't really love the season, but she was in love with it. Cold weather suited her better anyway, creating a perfect mix with her warm personality. The winter had always something magic, something hidden, and something strange, and something dark and mysterious…

The way that the cold penetrates to the bone, the way that every snowflake is different from the other, the way how the earth was masked somehow even though the people wore masked in all the other seasons….

The winter always made her feel alive, like it was some hidden beauty underneath, it always made her believe that all the cold was…layered

In addition to that, the winter always gave her, the opportunity to squatter on the couch with a coup of hot tea and an old book.

Sometimes she missed the winters, the Storybrooke winters to be more specific, even though she never thought of them.

Maybe that's way she was happy. Maybe the cold was the one making her smile earlier…or maybe not. She knew one thing though; as long as she was cold she was alive. And she was free.

Sooooo…... a little cold didn't bother her.

However the way how her feet hurt and the way how the whole town was probably able to hear her stomach…. This was a complete different story.

She wished to stop, but the little heals were still heard hitting the pavement. If she would had taken after her feet, the beautiful woman would've thought that she walk miles, a lot of miles, but knowing the real size of the town that was impossible.

The young woman saw all the buildings large or small; she looked at all the shops and at all the cars parked in some alleys, but nothing looked familiar.

And she knew why. Not because the town would had changed in any way, but because she hadn't really looked at anything.

During her walk she only saw shapes and lines, leaving her memories to complete the rest. Bad decision. With her vivid imagination it was hard to pick from the pile of imagines from her mind, the one which were actually real. But who cared about reality anyway? It was so boring.

Even if the woman didn't have any idea where she was going, her body certainly knew better.

Granny's diner definitely didn't change, at least at the exterior. It only seemed older than it should have been, but no, it wasn't old, it was classic.

As if it could smell the food from inside, her stomach was making noise again.

Through the window she was able to see some people at their tables minding their own businesses. Probably they where to buys to see her enter.

He could also see a beautiful woman like a model from the cover of a magazine. She saw her for a moment before she turn her back and start saying something that the blue eyes couldn't hear. The beauty was just wondering how her uniform could still fit with so little fabric. Even the apron's ribbon seemed too tiny.

While the model was stepping, like she was on a catwalk, behind the counter probably to the kitchen, the woman pressed the door handle and entered.

As she expected, no one turned their heads toward her. Maybe they would had noticed the old stranger's presence if she would had actually thought twice before sitting down at a specific table near the window.

That was her favorite table from the entire diner. There she was hidden from the eyes of the others, but she could see all of them without being afraid that she would be caught. When she was little, that place had always made her feel like a spy, or like a writer who observe her characters in their natural environment. Still, there was another reason for choosing that seat in particular.

Standing there she had a perfect view of the table in the centre, of one table to be more specific.

Supporting her head on her hands, she saw two men possibly shorter than her drinking their coffee or whatever was in those cups.

It wasn't always like that. The two men weren't always standing there.

She remembered a girl, a beautiful girl, who had many friends. They had to join several tables so that everyone could sit down. The girl laughed a lot and she was always happy with her friends.

That made little Belle to wish for some friends when she blew out her birthday candles, and not just books like usual.

The first time she saw her, she didn't think the creature was real. She was too beautiful. She was tall but she wasn't a giraffe and she was skinny but she always ate big slices of pizza. Her skin looked like porcelain and she had long fingers like a pianist. Her hair also long. It was as dark as a night without moon and stars and it had some curls, but they weren't big and messy like Belle's, they were soft and shiny.

The big kids didn't really pay attention to little girls like Belle, but she had always smiled at her. The big girl had beautiful red lips and she was always holding hands with a handsome boy.

When she saw her for the first time, she was convinced that the girl was a princess and not just any princess. She was the fairest of them all. She had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as ebony. She was sure she saw Snow White.

Even though the adults who were big and smart told her that she was wrong, the little girl dragged her papa every Friday at Granny's for hot coco, just to look at the beautiful Snow White.

But one day the princess didn't show up. She didn't show up the day after either.

So, she didn't really have a reason to come to the diner anymore.

The child was sad for a while, but she thought really hard and she realized why Snow White wasn't coming anymore. Perhaps Prince Charming came to her with a white horse and they booth rode it trough the sunset.

"Ruby, I didn't tell you to go back and take a break, while I do your job for you!" yelled an old woman coming from behind the counter, while in the seat of the fairytale princess the two men were sipping their drinks.

The girl with chestnut curls almost jump hearing the old women's voice, but she figured out that it had to be something common at the diner because nobody bothered to notice the sound. Probably they didn't even care at that point.

Granny had always been a strong and determined woman. Belle would have like to know her earlier when her hair wasn't all white and her face wasn't all wrinkled. Unfortunately Granny had always been old, her hair had always been white and her face had always been wrinkled; at least for Belle. In spite of all those things, Granny looked more like the heroine from a novel then like an ordinary grandmother. Mrs. Lucas was a woman with a sharp tongue and a golden heart.

If she would have gone through life without meeting her, Belle would have been probably 10 times poorer.

Seeing how she was cleaning a few tables a nostalgic smile sat on Belle's face.

Noticing with the corner of her eye the figure of a girl, probably too shy to order, Granny was a little surprised.

Among all teenagers with big mouths, it was one who knew how to be silent, and this one was in her diner. That should be celebrated.

"Hey, have you decided what to order?" asked the woman walking near the girl, who oddly hadn't noticed her coming. It wasn't such a big place after all and she wasn't so tiny.

Belle raised her head surprised, to gaze at the old woman how seemed to come out of nowhere. She had been probably lost in some twisted corners of her mind again.

Granny needed to repeat the question again so the young woman could understand what she was saying. At the same time she understood something else.

What to order? She could answer that question in her sleep, but why she left her wallet in the car…that was a much harder question.

However, not having money didn't make her hunger go away and trying to give Granny an explication was unlikely given her impulsive temper. She decided to try though.

"I ummm…." she said trying to find her words while she moved away a strand of hair from her face, her eyes looking in the old woman's eyes. "I'm so sorry but I umm…"

The woman's eyes widened seeing the brown curls and the embarrassed look in front of her.

"Stand up" she said simply as the girl obeyed immediately.

Looking at her and analyzing her from every angle, the old woman stepped back and smiled. She smiled because of that hair, because of those eyes and because of that everything.

"Well, well, well, I had no idea that my place has a ghost!" said the owner of the diner, making the stranger to laugh. "This gorgeous woman can't be little Belle from the flower shop!"

"I'm happy to see you too Granny!" said the girl hugging the other woman. "You didn't change at all"

"Oh, but you change a lot" Granny said while she was arranging one of her curls."If your hair would be shorter and blond I would've swore that you were Amelie. Who would have thought that Isabella French can grow up?"

"Just Belle." the girl corrected her. "I go by Belle now"

"Of course you do honey!" said the woman without even blinking, like it was the most natural thing in the whole Universe

The questions started to flow immediately after. There was millions and millions of questions and Belle didn't even have the chance to respond to any of them. She was sure though that the news of her arrival weren't so secret anymore. She had been discovered by Granny already and they were living in Storybrooke…she didn't know what she expected. To be discreet was practically impossible in Storybrooke, but a girl can only hope, can't she?

"Didn't you want to order something to eat?" the woman asked out of nowhere after the wave of questions calmed down a bit.

The young woman blushed hearing the sentence.

"About that…my wallet is ummm….."

"Nonsense honey" the other interrupted."This is on the house. You still have the same order, don't you?"

Belle nodded. She would've liked to refuse Granny's offer not wanting to take advantage of the woman's heart, but her stomach had its own brain, that was used by the whole body at that moment.

She watched how Granny was yelling again at Ruby (probably sure that she could hear her) to bring a hamburger with extra ketchup and an ice tea. In that moment Belle could only think at the image of a 5 years old girl with two pigtails and a red dress who push a boy so hard that he felt and broke his head, just because she was picking on the sweet girl from the swings. Even though the 'sweet girl' was 9, little Ruby was only 5 and the boy in cause was probably 10, that didn't stop the girl with raven hair from protecting her new friend no matter what.

"Come, go, come, go. One of this days Granny… I swear that am goanna take the first bus out of this dead dump you call town. Just wait and you'll see. "

Ruby, the model from earlier, was coming with a tray that probably had her order. Apparently she hadn't seen Belle yet, but the girl already saw her. She was taller, so much taller than she pictured her and she was ravishing, oh my God she was so ravishing! Her black silky hair was a little longer and had some red strands which were there to match her outfit much likely. Her tiny red and white outfit. She was one of those girls who knew they are beautiful ant they always used that in their advantage. She was probably strong like her grandmother and she probably had a good heart, like her grandmother.

'She cried for two whole days when you left, you know? Not that she would ever admit it' the old woman said several minutes ago.

She was happy to see the Lucas hurricane no matter what.

"Bbb…Belly?" her voice heard and Belle didn't even knew that the girl in red could stutter. "Is that you?"

Ruby's voice was still a little unsure, but that didn't stop her to drop the tray on the table and practically jump on the girl with blue eyes. The stranger received at that moment more attention than she would've liked, but somehow that didn't bother her like it should.

"Granny, you can go now. I'm sure you have other things to do and you bored her enough. I'm taking care of Belle now "said the girl with raven hair with a big smile on her face. Okay she ordered all those things, but who cares anyway? " You should have told me you come. I would have thrown you a huge 'Welcome Home' party…"

Belle didn't realize the exact moment when Granny left, or the exact moment when her food finished, but she knew every word that came out of her friend's mouth. And she used so many words!

Ruby told her how the playground had changed from the last time she saw it, about how Granny was making her to work at the diner even though she was going to be a big actress some day. The brunette talked about her ex boyfriend Peter who had a motorcycle and who was away at college and Granny was so happy about that. She also scolded Belle because they didn't keep in touch while she was away even though her anger was now a playful one. The waitress planed a million things for them to do together and she was also planning to present Belle to all of her friends. For some reason the young woman with chestnut hair doubted that they had the same taste in friends.

"Ruby, I think is time for me to go" she said probably hours later, when the other girl was telling her about how their tree house collapsed one day when it was raining."I don't want papa to worry."

"Then you could call him, you know? You realized that you are 24 years old, don't you? You're kind of a grown-up now and I guess you could skip your bedtime for once in a while." the waitress joked unready to let her friend go yet.

Belle shook her head, not knowing her father's phone number and not just because she also left her phone in the car.

Leaving the diner she could feel the cold air of the evening flying through her bones. A sad smile appeared on her face as she waved 'goodbye' to Ruby before she left.

Leaving was what she knew best and it shouldn't be so hard, right?

Her walk down to memory lane was coming to an end, and at the side of the road The Present was a hitchhiker who was about to lose 'his' patience waiting for her. She hurried, but Belle forgot she didn't have a car at the moment.

**Hello everyone! I'm sorry I'm late but I was so busy this week and even if write the chapter I have to translate it into english and it isn't so hard but it takes time and I have a habit of procrastinating everithing until the last minute.**

**About the story now: I have some ideas about what's going to happen so that's a good thing. You may also noticed that the action didn't really star yet, but I have a good reason for that. I would like to give my characters some kind of a backstory and I want to use as many OUAT charachters as I can because I feel that some of them are going to be good assets to the story. I think... I think I'm not sure that I'm going to do one more chapter with Belle ( and probably I'm gonna involve some characters) and than I will finaly bring Rumplestilskin in the picture.**

**I'm very grateful that you're reading my story anyway and I hope you like my way of writing. Bye!**


	4. My kingdom for silver slippers

**IV My kingdom for silver slippers**

One week. That means 7 days. That means 10080 minutes. That means 604800 seconds. So, to sum it up, that means a long time, a very long time.

It should mean that….

However it means nothing.

That's the thing about time. Supposedly it's the same for everyone... just supposedly.

Notions like the length of a day, a moment or the length of a life, are somehow...blended. Weird right? You would expect a beginning, a middle and an end from time, but you would expect too much. Time has this strange sense of humor, even though it almost never laughs. And when _time_ laughs I'm pretty sure it laughs at us. It laughs at our bizarre expectations, it laughs at the fact that we keep looking from monsters under our beds and not on them and it laughs at how serious we are about numbers

Even if the humanity was never so good at math, life seems to use numbers on daily basis.

'I have to be there in an hour', 'I have to finish the paper in 2 minutes.', 'I sleep with a guy only after 5 dates'. 'I have just 6 month to live', 'You have to leave now'…..

As we count we forget that, like literature, math is also subjective. A minute is like an eternity and an eternity is like a second.

Yep, _time_ sure has a strange sense of humor.

Probably that's what discover Einstein a long time ago and probably that's what Belle discover some seconds ago (after 604799 seconds to be more specific)

Walking through the halls of the house you grow up in should make your heart skip a beat, should stop the time. The smell of the sheets on your old bead should remind you about those just 2 hours of sleep when you got school the next day. The food should taste like a memory and you should laugh at that old teddy bear that seemed to be glued on you when you were 4.

In the childhood house shouldn't time be frozen?

In that way it should be enough, right? Well frozen or not the time is never enough.

The room that used to belong to the girl looked the same as in the evening of her departure. Maybe a little dusty. Sill, Belle didn't feel that was the room where she hidden the chocolate chip cookie which was gonna be shared with Lady the neighbor's dog and she definitely didn't feel that her papa used to read her fairy tales before bed in that room.

These things weren't so important to her so she hadn't given them much thought but her accommodation period was almost over and she didn't accommodate yet.

A lot didn't change so this period shouldn't be necessary but somehow it wasn't enough.

She saw new faces beside the old ones and that make her feel a little normal for some time.

Ruby dragged her almost every morning at Granny's for tea and interrogation. At least she got tea.

Her father wasn't really a fan of those things. Not to be misunderstood; he liked Ruby, everybody liked Ruby, this was one of her many talents, but she had the tendency to go a little too far, a lot to far if we're being honest, and her papa didn't really liked surprises anymore

She saw a man with nice features at the diner who always ordered two coffees to go and who always smiled and was making conversation with Ruby, Granny or some random customer while he was waiting for his order. She seemed to know him from somewhere and she regretted not to pay attention when Ruby told her his name.

She met Archie Hopper again, and his Dalmatian seemed to have a better memory than the doctor, who was vaguely introduced to her in the last day of her freshmen year of college.

She met old acquaintances of her father and some persons who used to know her, but she felt more comfortable when she bumped into a man in the street in the third day of her arrival, then when she talked with those people.

Even though these so-called acquaintances got lost somewhere in her mind, the young woman couldn't forget the stranger's face that fascinated her.

He was tall with common features, which ironically made him stand out and considering the hoodie that he was wearing, standing out was not a part of his plan. Looking into his brown eyes she saw him old, or her age at least, but Belle knew that it wasn't true. His face wasn't defined yet and his eyes were trying to hide the innocence that was obviously still there.

That stranger was probably a twisted relative of Peter Pan. The girl remembered the story of the boy who didn't want to grow up, and the stranger before her eyes was the story of the boy who couldn't grow up fast enough. Peter Pan was afraid to grow up and forget, but the man-child was afraid he would never forget.

Maybe that was the reason why Belle thought that he was more worth remembering than Mrs. Bingsly from across the street. The stranger was a new face who was going to be just that, a new face.

Gary on the other hand, wasn't so new. He almost hadn't changed at all. He _looked_ more like an adult now that was sure. He was also tall, taller than her, but so was everybody so it wasn't a surprise, and he was attractive, very attractive. He was always handsome so that wasn't a surprise either. He was muscular and looked strong (probably was).

He had the most beautiful eyes and the most charming simile that was ever seen.

Like I said he looked strong and he could probably lift heavy things, but Belle was sure that neither one of those things was a book.

Not that Gary was stupid, but he didn't really try to be smart unless he had to.

The woman didn't really know at what point of her life she met Gary, but somehow she knew him. And he was paying a lot of attention to her.

She knew that the invitation to talk about childhood memories over a cup of coffee wasn't so innocent and she knew that the reason why would start with the story about how he stole her first kiss when she was 12 and he was 15 wasn't innocent either. Those memories and that memory specifically, didn't mean so much to Belle.

However, Belle accepted his invitation and when Gary ordered a latte for her without even asking; she thanked him and actually drank it. In addition to that she laughed at his jokes and she flirted back when that dashing smile of his appeared.

She didn't think that his simile was so special, but her father thought so and when her papa smiled, Belle smiled too.

And even though papa would have wanted her to continue to help him at the flower shop, Belle knew that this would never happen. Even if she loved flowers and the stories hidden behind them, the beauty liked the idea of control more; control over her life, control over her own destiny.

The funny thing is that in some occasions (in this occasion) the destiny wore tiny clothes and had a red lipstick in the apron's pocket.

"How come that I spent all my time talking about this boring town and you didn't say a word about Boston?" asked Ruby while Belle took her first sip of her tea.

It was too early in the morning for such a direct question, but Belle was speared by the necessity of an answer when the diner's door opened and the waitress look moved to the person who opened it.

The girl with chestnut curls looked at the clock; it was 7:15 AM. She was 100% sure that it was the man who ordered the two coffees. He was never late.

She turned her head to see him, but she was surprised that in his place was a woman and not some average woman. There stood the fairest of them all. She grew up, but her skin was still white as the snow, her lips were still red as the blood and even though it was short, her hair was still black as the ebony.

_Snow White_…the child inside her whispered.

"Mary!" she heard the waitress shouting as she stood up. "Where is David?"

So David was his name. _No, Prince Charming_… the child spoke again.

"Hi Ruby, I'm happy to see you too" said the woman. "David has a cold and it's only one coffee this time and a hot chocolate for Emma. She will be here soon, she stopped to talk to Ashley." she finished the sentence while looking in her purse to find her wallet most likely.

While Ruby went in the back, Belle looked closely at her Snow White. She heard Ruby's story about the mysterious Mary who somehow became like a sister to her, but she never for a second thought that he heroine of Ruby's stories was at the same time was the heroine of her fairy tales.

The woman was standing close to her but probably because she was hurry she hadn't noticed her yet. Belle didn't mind at all. She knew that the woman couldn't be old, just older than her, but somehow she managed to look even younger than she probably was. Maybe it was the haircut.

"Oh God, how rude can I be?" spoke the woman with black hair in a calm tone. "I always do that you know? You must be one of Ruby's friends and I ignore you completely. I should say hi, right? Hi!"

Belle needed a second to realize that those words were for her and that smile too.

"Hello!" she said almost laughing as she stood up to sake her hand. "I'm…"

"Wait a minute, don't tell me" the woman interrupted her. "I know you. You used to come here often…aaa…you are Mr. French's daughter…aaa…."

"Belle" said the girl with blue eyes feeling like a simple conversation turn into a charades game.

"Yes, that your name! I'm Mary Margaret Blanchard by the way"

"Psst…Nolan" said Ruby in a false whisper.

Mary Margaret gave her a 'not yet' look as she took Ruby's advice and stood down.

She knew that Emma was probably still caught in her conversation with Ashley so she still had time. Mary Margaret couldn't believe that little Belle who came at the diner, stopped being little Belle at some point. Looking in those blue eyes you could guess she was what they call an old soul, but you could also guess that she was still a child at heart. Of course she heard about her arrival in Storybrooke. Everyone did, she was this week breaking news.

"Mary, you know things. Don't you know a job for Belle?" said the destiny while she was arranging her hair. "She is good at English and stuff..."

Belle would've laughed, if the sudden question didn't somehow give her hope. Just a little bit.

The other woman didn't really expect a question like that, but she knew Ruby and that was a lot

"Hmm…assuming that you have some knowledge in the area and by that I mean a degree I would suggest you a teaching job but I know for sure that there's no opening right now…"

Hearing the woman's words Belle was a little disappointed, because knowing from Ruby that Mary Margaret was an elementary school teacher she also know that the woman with the pixie haircut was right.

"Although…" the former Snow White spoke as Belle raised her head" Our librarian retired some time ago and we don't really have many applicants for that…or even an applicant."

"Well…" started Belle who wasn't sure that this was real"…I took some classes regarding to that and I do love books"

Belle knew that her eyes were sparkling as she was speaking and she hardly resisted not to hug Mary Margaret in exact that second.

The women began to discuss about the formalities of going to the city hall, about the paper work and about the fact that it was an apartment above the library or something like that. But what really confused Belle was the part about asking for key to the real puppet master of the town.

"Mr. Gold" Ruby told seeing her confused look.

She was about to ask about this Mr. Gold, who somehow exist and didn't exist in her mind, but when her words were about to leave her moth she was interrupted by a fourth persons.

"Mary Margaret come on, hurry up, I don't want to be late to may first class!" said a frustrated girl with blond hair and a determined look on her face, who just walked into the diner."I have history with stupid Mr. Radley who hates my guts. I swear to God, people became teachers just to torture other people."

"And that's my darling daughter, mocking the job I voluntarily choose to do for living" said Mary Margaret ready to laugh.

"Right on time Em" said Ruby who was actually laughing. "Here is your hot chocolate with cinnamon and here is me giving you my compassion. I had Radley to when I was a junior like you. Don't worry he hates every student and he'll try to make the rest of the year a leaving Hell. But you have my compassion, don't forget that"

"How will I ever thank you for that?" said the blond girl sarcastically while she rolled her eyes.

At that moment, looking at her faces, Belle could bet that the girl didn't believe in Santa Claus when she was little. She was one of skeptics, one of the realists…

When the beauty left the diner she was happy, truly happy. She took a deep breath enjoying the fresh air in her lungs simply because she could. The young woman knew that she didn't go in adventures and she didn't slay a dragon, but she was happy because she had a chance. It was a little thing but it belonged to her.

Her little fingers gently opened the flower shop door and the same little fingers where the ones which, a couple minutes later, slammed the same door shut.

She walked fast and her shoes squeezed her. She was also a little angry…Maybe a lot.

Belle knew why she was angry but what she didn't know was that she was able to get angry.

Her father yelled at her so she yelled at him and Gary was there (of course he was) and he took her father's side (of course he did).

He didn't want her to get the job and then Belle reminded him that is the 21st century. He told her that she didn't really have social skills, and then Belle reminded him that people had the tendency to like her even though she was shy.

When he said he didn't allow her she just didn't care, she just got out of there as fast as she could and she slammed the door.

Those shoes didn't fit properly and they were hurting her at that moment.

Even if it wasn't because of the shoes she would still be hurt.

She could understand her father wanting her close to him, she could understand her father wanting her not to make any agreement with that Mr. Gold who she simply couldn't remember completely and she could understand a lot of those requests.

Yes, she could understand them if she would have thought for a moment that they were real, but she didn't.

She was glad that she didn't unpacked yet because that would make moving easier.

She knew she loved papa and papa loved her, she knew that she will smile and hug him, she knew that if Gary would ask her out she would say yes and she also knew that this fight was going to be swept under a rug, where all their fights were piled up.

Her fee hurt so much…She looked at her shoes and in that moment she realized…

She realized why time wasn't enough. The shoes were to blame, it was their fault.

She couldn't clap her heels together three times and say, 'There's no place like home.' with those shoes who weren't the silver ones.

She had a house that was a home once, but not anymore. Maybe a tornado took the home somewhere in the Land of Oz, but the tornado forgot her in Storybrooke.

Belle knew that she was no Dorothy Gale, but as she walked towards the city hall, she would have given anything for a pair of silver slippers.

**Hey everyone! I'm so sorry because I'm so late but I write the chapters on my tablet and it broke and I had to rewrite the chapter after I got over the fact that it was lost forever ( maybe I didn't get over it yet :) ). I'm also sorry for making you wait for a chapter like that ( I really like how the chapter turned out but I know it is something like a filler chapter and if I made you wait that long it should have been for a major one, with plot twists and all that jazz).**

**I hope you like it and I really want to hear (read) your opinion about it. I know the action of the story didn't actually start yet but I want to think that I haven't bored you so far. Like I said I would like to show this completely different characters who are somehow brought together, but I want to show you how the persons in your life (like Mary Margaret, Ruby or even Gary so far) could make you see what you hadn't seen before, so for that, my characters need to have a past and a present before having a future and I don't what to rush the action. **

**Thank you again for reading my story and let me know what you think of it please. Enjoy!**


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